OK, last comment on Father's Day

I'll get more into the entertainment portion of this blog eventually I swear, but need to wrap up this years Father's Day.

I briefly mentioned in an earlier post that this was my first Father's Day without my Dad.

Honestly, I've had a lot of Father's Days without my dad. No one's fault really. I'm bad about remembering Holidays so he, as well as most of my family, are use to getting cards in the mail from me many days after a holiday, birthday, anniversary, etc.

Of course, now that I'm a Dad, I was getting much better at remembering this one.
Unfortunately, only a few years after I became a Dad, I started losing mine.
My Dad wasn't around a lot physically while I was growing up. Parents were divorced when I was 10 I think and he traveled a lot before that.
But I'm not going to sit here and complain about being raised a poor black child with no father figure growing up on the hard streets of Someplace, USA. Partly because I'm not black and I grew up in a nice neighborhood. Okay, so mostly because of that. But my Dad was always just a phone call away and just knowing that was enough for me to feel close.

But after years of drinking heavy and more the result of being a heavy smoker, Dad was no longer getting enough oxygen to his brain and dementia set in. So our conversations no longer flowed logically and eventually I couldn't even get him on the phone.
He died February 28th.
I didn't see him his last 2 years on earth and talked to him maybe twice.

Because of that, I always told myself that he was basically already gone and felt like I had dealt with losing him on some level already.
But when you get the call from your sister who was able to be with him as he passed, that he was going to die any moment, the finality of it all is like Mike Tyson punching you in the stomach.
I know I'm 37 and supposed to be a responsible adult with my own family that I need to take care of, but my ultimate safety net is gone. I never really called on him to catch me, but knowing he would was all I needed. Now my net is gone.

I cried harder than I ever expected. Over and Over.

My oldest son who is 5 did his best to console me and tell me that my Dad was in heaven so I didn't need to cry. My youngest son who is 2 never got to meet my Dad and that makes me cry every time I think about it. My niece put together a video to be played at his funeral. Near the end is a part where my Dad is looking at a picture of my youngest son my sister showed him. I'm crying as I type, this is where I always feel Tyson's punch again.

Dylan, my oldest told me after Church on Father's Day that in Sunday school he learned when you pray you could talk to people in Heaven. So if I missed my Dad all I had to do was pray, and I wouldn't have to cry anymore. Dylan has no idea what he does for me and how much he means to me. He has no idea how much better his words make me feel. Saying "I Love You" was not a common thing between my Dad and I growing up. But thankfully, I made it a part of every conversation with him the last few years and I make sure it is said often between Dylan and myself and now Dalton as well.

So Father's Day is over, but I prayed and talked to Dad. And I told him I still love him.

This is the video from the funeral (and yes we corrected the spelling of February before showing it)

And now, the Results...

Here are the results of my Greatest Father's Day gift ever...worth a thousand words:

Mr. Derrick Brooks

Eddie Sutton

Kurt Budke

Bill Self

Barry Hinson and Al Jergins

Pat Jones and John Phillips

Father's Day recap

Ok, I planned on catching you up, but first I have to tell you about My Father's Day.

I have been given the greatest Father's Day gift I could have imagined!!

So indulge me as I explain.

I am an Oklahoma State University fan and alum. Some of you might know who Mr. Iba is. (Henry "Hank" Iba) Mr. Iba coached OSU basketball in the 40's and took OSU (then Oklahoma A&M) to become the first ever NCAA back-to-back national champions. He also coached the USA Olympic team in a gold medal match against the Russians. Probably the most controversial game in Olympic history as the Americans were completely robbed of their gold medal as well as Mr. Iba's wallet that was stolen from his pocket during the aftermath on the court.
Historic Gallagher-IBA Arena is where OSU plays basketball and defends their wrestling legacy every year and has been voted the nation's #1 arena many years running.
Anyway, here in Oklahoma, a few years ago in honor of the man Mr. Iba was on and off the field, the Henry P. Iba Citizen Athlete Award was established. Warrick Dunn was the male recipient in 2003. This year, it's Derrick Brooks. And this year, my wife surprised me with tickets, that in my terms are not cheap, to the event.
My world's come together as a legend from OSU is part of honoring a legend from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. There are only 2 Bucs I've ever wanted autographs from. Lee Roy Selmon and Derrick Brooks. I got Lee Roy's a couple years after he got in the Hall of Fame on an old Bucco Bruce helmet. I wanted to get the new helmet with Derrick's autograph but unfortunately this is a black tie affair and only autographs on the program are allowed. I am so excited I can't hardly stand it.
Somehow I have to find the line of reaction at the event.
Choice One is to stand back shyly in awe too scared to approach Mr. Brooks and just be happy I was in his presence much like my technique at singles bars was before I met my wife. How I got a wife with that type of awesomeness I'll never now.
Choice 2 is completely embarrass myself and wife by gushing all over Derrick and rambling at a speed no human would understand about how I love him, the Bucs, his person, etc.
All in the most manly of terms of course.

Anyway, just had to tell someone about what a great Father's Day this has become. It's my first without my Dad who passed in February in Lake City, FL. But this gift means so much to me, I have to think he had a hand in it and is as excited for me as I am.

Lettuce Begin

Oh man, can't believe I'm getting into this. Everyone's blogging and my wife thinks I write well and has convinced me to start a blog myself.

Problem is, most of my good stories are told over adult beverages with just the right amount of animation versus dry humor. I've got myself in trouble more than once when my tone of voice doesn't come across in an email or other written word. So this little experiment may blow up in my face as well.

Plus, I don't know where to begin. Do I make this a freaking diary? Do I start with my day today and just go forward, or do I give you some history and slowly catch up to current day?

One of our friends has a great blog, but mixes in cooking recipes to keep a theme and keep us coming back. (http://thecrockstar.blogspot.com/)

I don't cook.

What do I do? Good question. Oh freak, fine! A History it is.

So let the diary begin.

Hopefully I get better at this, so hang in there with me and let's see if I'm entertaining at all.

But beware, sometimes I get deep or at least emotional (for a guy), I'm not always P.C., and I may have to come back and delete something because I'm afraid I might give a little TMI.